Sunday September 18, 2011

I arrived in Grand Junction yesterday, and since I didn’t find a mirror in the bike shops I visited on the way down, I decided to go see what I can find. I didn’t realize that nearly everything is closed on Sunday here, especially bike shops.

Undeterred, I ride on.

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19th Century Railroad cars

There’s a living history farm museum just down the road from my Dad’s house. These 19th Century Railroad cars are part of the museum.

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Union Station Grand Junction

I’ve been told the old Union Station was in a sad state not too long ago. Preservationists are working to restore it to its previous glory.

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Colorado National Monument

This is the view of the Colorado National Monument as seen from behind Union Station Grand Junction.

In 2006 my brothers, dad and I rehabbed and resold a house in Orchard Mesa. I decided since I was nearby to go check how it had changed in the past five years.

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Victorian, Orchard Mesa

All over the Grand Valley are these old Victorian Homes. Some have been turned into rooming houses but many remain much unchanged since the were built over a century ago.

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Our Rehab 5 years later

By all appearances the owners are taking good care of the house we sold. I was surprised that many of the “annuals” that I planted 5 years ago are still alive and growing.

Then I rode over to 32 Road and headed North. At the Colorado River I decide to check out the “bike path” that was recently built. Really it’s a multi-use path, which makes it somewhat undesirable to me. In the distance you may be able to see a bridge

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Multi-use Path Colorado River

This is the view from that bridge looking back toward the place I took the previous picture. You can barely make out the trail from this viewpoint.

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MUP Bridge looking back West

I rode back to my Dad’s house, but they still weren’t back from church. So I decided to ride east toward the Grand Mesa. The road merges with Interstate 70. I decided to avoid that today and went up the North River Road. I crossed this bridge and noticed the plaque. I checked the dates and it corresponds to the WPA years. So even though it doesn’t say so, I believe this was a WPA project.

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WPA project

Here’s a nice picture of a sandstone abutment, which was probably part of the bridge the 1937 bridge replaced.

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Old Bridge abutment

Nice view of the Grand Mesa which I hope to scale later in the week.

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The Grand Mesa

I have a thing for Victorian homes. Here’s another one in Palisades. I counted three electric meters on the side.

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Victorian in Palisades

The railroad is still important in this part of Colorado, but there are fewer passengers and fewer stops. This station looks like it’s being converted for other uses.

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Train Station Palisades

Here’s my route and profile.

Tomorrow I tackle the Colorado National Monument.

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